Pumpkin Bubble Maps

We are still in that wonderful pumpkin season!  Have you visited a pumpkin patch yet?  We went in mid-October to a new-to-us patch...it was so much fun!

My girls created some "Bubble Maps" shortly after their pumpkin patch visit.  Bubble maps are great for organizing thoughts, learning and practicing new vocabulary, and brainstorming ideas.  Simple bubble maps for my girls (4 & 6) involve using words that they associate with the larger idea; in this case, "pumpkin."  They came up with words that they associate with pumpkins, and wrote them down inside "bubbles," which connect to the bubble (or in our case, pumpkin) in the middle.

Some of the words they thought of include:

*paint (they saw painted pumpkins)
* stem, seeds, and skin (parts of the physical pumpkin itself)
*goo (what they felt from their sensory activity last week)
*fall (the season in which they find pumpkins abundant)
*orange (the typical color of pumpkins)

There really is no "wrong" answer for a bubble map!  Ask your kids to write down what they think of when they think about pumpkins...their answers might surprise you!

You can use bubble maps for any variety of topics or themes!  They are lots of fun and easy to create!

Inside Out Pumpkin Craft

The next time you play with the inside of a pumpkin for sensory play, be sure to save a few seeds to create an "inside-out pumpkin!"

I pulled the one in the picture out from my craft binder, and for some reason it is missing its seeds!  But, all you need is:

*Pumpkin seeds

*Orange yarn, cut

*An orange pumpkin template

*Glue bottle

Let you child have fun gluing orange strings and pumpkin seeds all over his pumpkin paper.  The yarn represents the "goop" they find inside the pumpkin, and the seeds represent themselves!  Easy and fun!

Pumpkin Patch Picture/Craft

This is a super cute and easy pumpkin/fall themed activity.  All you need is:

*cut up green yarn (or string or whatever else you might have)

*orange circles (or pumpkin cutouts or stickers)

*a sheet of paper

*glue bottle

Have your child create a "pumpkin patch" by gluing the "pumpkins" and the "vines" throughout the paper.  You could even have various sized orange circles!  

Super simple, frugal, and a fun way to teach that pumpkins grow on a vine (they don't just appear in a box at a grocery store!).

Pumpkins-Sensory Play

Pumpkins are good for so many things.  We love to buy pie pumpkins and decorate the house with them.  But at some point, we decide it needs to be played with, cooked, and then eaten in the delicious form of pumpkin pie or a pumpkin spice latte.

Sensory play with pumpkins is always a hit.  It's ooey and gooey and has an interesting smell to it.  I give the kids a bowl to sort out the seeds, and when they're done, we wash the seeds and cook them in the oven (we cook them at 350 F tossed in a tiny bit of olive oil and salt until they are crisp-usually 15-20 minutes depending on their size, and stirring occasionally).

Once the seeds are cooked, we remove any of the remaining goop from the insides using a spoon or their fingers.  Replace the top, and cook!  See my post HERE if you've never cooked or pureed a pumpkin before.

What fun activities do you like to do with pumpkins?  

Christmas Around the Corner

It's October!  And thus begins the happiest months of the year for me!  

School is going smoothly.

The weather is slowly changing.

I'm almost due and have an excuse to wear comfy pants at any time and on any day. 

It's the season of adding pumpkin to anything and everything.

I've been freezer cooking to stock my freezer for the weeks following this little guys' arrival.

I'm starting to Christmas shop (a little behind this year).

I'm finishing up my first ebook.

My kids are enjoying soccer.

My husband is as hot as ever. 

And I'm just generally enjoying life.

I'm feeling more prepared food-wise just because I've at least started to freezer cook.  But it's this whole Christmas thing that's got me a little bit worried this year.  Last year, we did an entirely homemade Christmas.  Almost every gift was hand made, and our kids enjoyed it.  I really don't want our kids (or us) to fall into the trap of needing "stuff" or the newest, coolest toy or whatever.  We kept it simple, frugal, fun, and personal.  

That being said, I have no clue what to do this year!  I love the homemade stuff, but I also love other little fun things, too.  It just takes a bit of time to shop for good deals and what-not so that Christmas doesn't come with a big price-tag.

 Last week, I found these antique jewelry pieces on Amazon for just $1.59 shipped!  They had a whole bunch of different styles to choose from, but I just chose one for myself and one for a gift.  It's just one thing, but hey, it's a start!

I shared last week about how I am using my Swagbucks to earn free Amazon gift cards.  If I keep my eyes open, I seem to find great deals on Amazon here or there, which are perfect for Christmas.  I also have Amazon Prime, so I get free 2-day shipping on almost anything, which really makes shopping online much more cost-effective.  If you've never tried Amazon Prime before, I highly suggest it!  They are offering a free 30-day trial right now (perfect to get some of those Christmas gifts shipped for free!) and it also includes access to their shows and movies (kind of like Netflix).  You also get a huge discount on diapers (20%, I think).

So basically, I'm clueless about Christmas this year and I have no clue when I'll have time to make stuff for my kiddos.  I'm stalking Amazon for great deals, and hoping my house gets decorated at the end of November.

Have you started preparing for Christmas yet?  If not, when do you start?

Scratch Pumpkin Pie

My friend, Terri, has been relentlessly asking for the recipe I use for my pumpkin pies.  It's not that I didn't want to give it to her, it was mostly that I kept forgetting and then on top of that, I like to include pictures with recipes on my blog, and the first pie that I made this month was gone before I could take pictures.  She even brought a store-bought pie into work today to share to show me how pitiful her Thanksgiving Pie was going to be.  Ahem.  So here it is...finally!


Make your pie crust first!

Pie Crust

I use this Pate Brisee crust recipe for my pumpkin pies (and my sweet potato pies!).  Follow the link.  There are great directions and pictures, as well ;)

Then make your pie filling!

Pumpkin Pie (originally from simplyrecipes.com)

• 2 cups pumpkin puree (I use fresh from a pie pumpkin-learn how HERE)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (this is my preference, but you can also use 1 can evaporated milk or 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream if you have either or those instead)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4-1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs + 1 extra egg yolk
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 
• 1/4-1/2 tsp lemon zest

In a bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, salt, and all the spices.  Add beaten eggs into the mixture and stir to incorporate well.  Add pumpkin puree, one cup at a time, followed by the sweetened condensed milk (or whatever cream/ milk you chose).  Mix well until smooth and uniform.  

Pour into your pie crust slowly, and place pie into a 425 degree oven.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Then, reduce the heat to 350 and bake another 40-50 minutes (sometimes mine take as long as 60 minutes).  The middle may have a little movement to it.  Just make sure that a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Once it comes out clean, the pie is done.  Allow to cool at room temp for a couple hours (we can never wait that long, though).  

This pie is full of spice and great flavor, and everyone always loves it!  After making this pie several times last year, every other pumpkin pie that I tried throughout the holidays seemed bland to me.  I hope you enjoy it!

Cranberry Pumpkin Oat Muffins

I love anything pumpkin.  Here is my tasty creation from tonight using fresh pureed pumpkin, fresh cranberries, and oats (another thing I love).  Ellie and Zoe were my awesome helpers, as usual, and did a great job!  I am a huge fan of including children in baking activities.  Including kids in baking or cooking activities is a creative way to help them learn many skills, including math and direction following!  Here's what we did:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh pureed pumpkin (or canned)
• 1/2-1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg
• Thick rolled oats for sprinkling on top

Combine flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix together.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs.  Add sugar, vanilla, pumpkin, and vegetable oil.  Mix well.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix just until it is all moist.  Fold in the cranberries.  Pour into a greased muffin tray, filling each about 3/4 of the way full.  Sprinkle with oats.  Place it in the oven at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  I will say that next time I will probably add another cup of pumpkin; but, like I said, I really like pumpkin.  If you don't like your pumpkin pureed, you could also do fresh shredded pumpkin (cook your pumpkin and scrape it out with a fork to shred it).  This will make it so that you have small pumpkin pieces throughout the muffins, too (I prefer it that way, but I only had some puree).  Serve warm and enjoy!